Emergency Memo

Department of Energy

August 18, 2023
MEMORANDUM FOR THE UNDER SECRETARY FOR INFRASTRUCTURE
FROM:

MARIA D. ROBINSON
MARIA
DIRECTOR
ROBINSON
GRID DEPLOYMENT OFFICE

SUBJECT:

ACTION: Request to Approve Release of the Federal Register
Notice for Comments on the Solar Ambassador Household
Intake Form

Digitally signed by MARIA
ROBINSON
Date: 2023.08.18
18:32:53 -04'00'

ISSUE: Whether to approve the release of a 30-day Federal Register Notice (FRN) to
invite public comment on the use of the Solar Ambassador Intake Form as the means to
collect information necessary to qualify households as eligible to participate in the
deployment phase of the Puerto Rico Energy Resiliency Fund (PR-ERF).
BACKGROUND: Pursuant to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
procedures established in 5 C.F.R. 1320, Controlling Paperwork Burdens on the Public,
Federal entities must request approval from OMB to identical information from ten or
more members of the public. The approval process requires an FRN to be published to
allow for public comment on whether the information collection is necessary and if time
burden estimates for respondents appear reasonable.
Authorized by the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023, Public Law 117-328, the
first round of the PR-ERF will support the installation of rooftop solar and storage
solutions for vulnerable Puerto Rican households. Eligibility is limited to very lowincome single-family households residing in Puerto Rico that (1) include an individual
with an energy-dependent disability or (2) are located in a Last Mile Community. This
narrow scope in purpose necessities the need for a diligent verification process to ensure
households are eligible to participate in the deployment phase of the PR-ERF. GDO
developed the Solar Ambassador Intake Form as a means for verification sensitive to the
demographic we are working to serve while also being robust so GDO may demonstrate
to Congress, Senior Leadership, and the public that these specific communities have been
served.
GDO envisions that information collection will be performed by a network of CBOs
selected through a competitive ‘Solar Ambassador Prize.’ The Solar Ambassador Prize
will incentivize up to twenty Puerto Rican Community Based Organizations (CBOs) to
perform program outreach, education, and assist Puerto Rican homeowners interested in
receiving rooftop solar PV and battery storage installation complete the Solar
Ambassador Household Intake Form. Solar Ambassadors, working on behalf of the

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selected CBOs, will be the individuals performing outreach and assisting homeowners
with the intake process.
As the goal for the program is to qualify up to 40,000 households as eligible to participate
in the deployment phase of the PR-ERF, OMB must approve the use of the ‘Solar
Ambassador Household Intake Form’ as a means for collection. Approval is contingent
upon receiving and responding to public comment using the FRN as a vehicle.
RECOMMENDATION: That you approve the release of the FRN for Comments on the
Solar Ambassador Household Intake Form.
APPROVE: _______ DISAPPROVE: ______ NEEDS DISCUSSION: _____ DATE: ______